For much of Thursday, Railways looked set to deny Mumbai its fourth consecutive outright win. But Sarfaraz Khan had other ideas.
A stunning catch from Sarfaraz turned the game around, helping the ‘visiting’ side secure a 106-run win at the Brabourne Stadium despite centuries from Eshaan Goyal and Zubair Ali.
After Divyaansh Saxena’s maiden unbeaten 100 (136b, 8×4, 1×6) helped Mumbai set a target of 372, Railways was reduced to 83 for five. But Eshaan and Zubair dug in, adding 167 runs for the sixth wicket to take the contest into the final session.
Both capitalised on early reprieves and looked comfortable on a surface offering little assistance to the bowlers. With Tanush Kotian and Shams Mulani (four for 69) having completed their opening spells, Mumbai turned to Musheer Khan.
The move paid off as the left-arm spinner claimed three wickets.
Just when Eshaan (103, 201b, 11×4, 1×6) and Zubair (115, 117b, 14×4, 5×6) threatened to take the game away, Musheer produced the breakthrough. Eshaan attempted a sweep, but Sarfaraz, stationed at first slip, raced towards leg slip and completed a stunning diving catch. He then sprinted towards the dugout in celebration. The dive appeared to leave him in some discomfort, but Sarfaraz soon returned, visibly charged up.
With even captain Siddhesh Lad admitting that the thought of shaking hands had crossed his mind, a draw had seemed likely. But Musheer and Mulani combined to take Railways’ last five wickets for just 15 runs inside 12 overs.
The morning, meanwhile, belonged to Saxena. After reaching his hundred, the opener raised his bat, let out a roar and dropped to one knee, lifting his jersey to reveal his chiselled six-pack abs. It was an exuberant celebration of a hard-earned milestone that laid the foundation for another Mumbai victory before the focus shifts to white-ball cricket.
The scores: Mumbai — 1st innings: 396.
Railways — 1st innings: 259.
Mumbai — 2nd innings: Divyaansh Saxena (not out) 100, Angkrish Raghuvanshi c Merai b Raj 79, Tushar Deshpande c Raj b Mondal 0, Suryansh Shedge c Merai b Mondal 2, Musheer Khan c Merai b Mondal 9, Sarfaraz Khan (not out) 29; Extras (b-5, lb-9, wd-1): 15; Total (for four wkts. decl. in 42.5 overs) 234.
Fall of wickets: 1-146, 2-149, 3-151, 4-163.
Railways bowling: Sangwan 7-3-15-0, Raj 13-1-84-1, Adarsh 3-0-7-0, Toufik 7-0-43-3, Zubair 9.5-0-56-0, Sahab 3-0-15-0.
Railways — 2nd innings: Eshaan Goyal c Sarfaraz b Musheer 103, S. Yuvraj Singh c Raghuvanshi b Mulani 7, Kush Marathe c Anand b Kotian 0, Mohammad Sair run out 20, Bhargav Merai c Saxena b Mulani 3, Ravi Singh c Saxena b Mulani 0, Zubair Ali c Shedge b Musheer 115, Toufik Mondal c Kotian b Mulani 12, Raj Choudhury lbw b Kotian 2, Himanshu Sangwan c Saxena b Musheer 0, Adarsh Singh (not out) 0; Extras (b-2, lb-1): 3; Total (in 77.2 overs) 265.
Fall of wickets: 1-22, 2-23, 3-55, 4-83, 5-83, 6-250, 7-255, 8-263, 9-265.
Mumbai bowling: Deshpande 8-0-40-0, Avasthi 4-0-12-0, Shedge 2-1-6-0, Mulani 23-5-69-4, Kotian 26-4-93-2, Musheer 14.2-5-42-3.
Published – November 05, 2026 07:17 pm IST
